Third Woman Dies in Texas Due to Controversial Abortion Ban: “We Created Laws That Put Them Back in Danger”
Hope and Porsha Ngumezi pose together in a family photo. (Credit: Danielle Villasana for ProPublica)
Porsha Ngumezi, a 31-year-old mother of two, died after being denied a life-saving emergency abortion procedure in Texas—a state with one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans. Her story, reported by ProPublica, underscores the tragic consequences of such laws and the fear they instill in healthcare providers.
In spring 2023, Ngumezi, 11 weeks pregnant, began bleeding heavily, a symptom consistent with miscarriage. She drove herself to Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, later joined by her husband, Hope. An ultrasound indicated a likely miscarriage, compounded by her blood-clotting disorder, which elevated her risk of severe complications. However, lacking prior prenatal records, the hospital hesitated to confirm the pregnancy’s gestational age—a factor that could legally jeopardize their actions.
Over the next several hours, Ngumezi’s condition worsened. She passed out and required two blood transfusions as she passed blood clots “the size of grapefruit.” Medical experts told ProPublica that a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, the standard treatment to remove remaining fetal tissue and stop hemorrhaging, was necessary. Yet the hospital delayed, reportedly out of fear of violating Texas’ abortion ban.
I burst into tears when I got here. The speaker is a bereaved husband. “We all know pregnancies can come out beautifully or horribly,” Hope told ProPublica. “Instead of putting laws in place to make pregnancies safer, we created laws that put them back in danger.” www.propublica.org/article/pors…
— Irin Carmon (@irincarmon.bsky.social) November 25, 2024 at 7:15 PM
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Eventually, OB-GYN Dr. Andrew Ryan Davis arrived and administered misoprostol, a medication used to induce labor or address postpartum hemorrhage. Experts criticized this choice as unsafe for someone with severe bleeding and a clotting disorder. “She needed to go to the operating room,” said Dr. Elliott Main, a hemorrhage expert.
Ngumezi’s condition deteriorated further, and nearly 10 hours after arriving at the hospital, she died. Experts told ProPublica that her death was preventable at multiple points. “She is having significant blood loss, and the physician didn’t move toward aspiration,” said Dr. Daniel Grossman of UCSF.
Ngumezi’s case is part of a broader crisis. Maternal deaths in Texas rose 56% from 2019 to 2022, compared to an 11% increase nationwide. Experts attribute this to Texas’ abortion ban, SB 8, which criminalizes procedures that might otherwise save lives.
Her story is one of many tragedies linked to these laws. Other ProPublica reports detail similar cases, including women who narrowly survived after being denied emergency care. Journalist Amy Littlefield emphasized that restrictions at religious hospitals like Houston Methodist exacerbate the issue.
This is a heartbreaking and crucial report of a preventable death, but unfortunately, @propublica.org yet again failed to mention a key detail: the hospital's religious affiliation. (1/3)
— Amy Littlefield (@amylittlefield.bsky.social) November 25, 2024 at 7:43 PM
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For Hope and his children, the loss is irreparable. “Instead of putting laws in place to make pregnancies safer, we created laws that put them back in danger,” he said. His young sons, he shared, sometimes mistake strangers for their mother, a heartbreaking reminder of the human cost of restrictive abortion laws.
